Red Goes With Blue

[1]

He made his way out of the grocery store, carrying half a dozen eggs in the cotton bag that mamma had sent him with.

As he stepped into the heat, he saw that the Sun had taken its place high up in the sky. He didn’t want to take it personally, but it felt as if the ball of fire was blasting its heat directly at him. With sweat dripping down his shirt, he walked sluggishly, dreading the long way home.

That was when it happened; a shining, bright purple caught his eye.

He quickened his pace and stopped right in front of the prize. It was a bike!

Walking left and right, he appraised every inch of the cycle. It had dirt marks all over it, the bell was slightly rusted, and there was paint scraped off from a few areas. But the purple still shone through.

Upon further inspection, he noticed that the bike wasn’t locked, there wasn’t even a helmet to signify its ownership. He looked around to see if there was anyone who this purple beauty could belong to, but there was no one.

He thought back to the time when mamma had left small decoration pieces that she no longer wanted in this very same market lane. She had told him, someone who needed them more could take it. And that’s when it became clear to him, the bike was up for grabs!

Score!

He took the cycle off it’s stand and started walking with it, thanking the Sun for making it’s shine reach him. While today would be a great day for ice cream, he was walking home with something better!

***

[2]

She would have liked nothing more than to sit in the comfort of her cool house on the hot summer day, but her home was quickly becoming less comfortable by the minute.

For the better part of the morning, she had seen the movers take out one item after another, pack it in boxes and stack them all together till they had almost reached her father’s height as if to substitute for his absence. She had felt nauseous at that thought, knowing her father’s belongings would soon be out the door just like he had been a couple of weeks ago.

She had sat looking at the looming figure, starting to feel the mix of disappointment, anguish, and anger, when her mom had told her to quickly rush out and get the men some ice cream to help them cool down.

And that’s how she had ended up in front of the store, holding a packet of melting ice-cream, frantically searching for her bicycle that she had parked outside just a few minutes ago.

She was sure she had not parked it anywhere else but at the currently empty spot. There was no way she would have left it any further than necessary on such a hot afternoon.

She thought about walking back indoors to ask the storekeeper for help, but he already seemed annoyed. The heat had clearly gotten to him. It was a bad day to ask for help.

Should she just go back home? What would Ma say?

She shook the thought away; there was too much on Ma’s plate already. Maybe if she walked around a bit, she’d find the person who had taken her bicycle.

***

[3]

With the cotton bag hanging from the handle, he had his hands free to steer the cycle. But his feet remained on the ground. While the bike was certainly a treasure, he knew his priority was getting the eggs safely to mamma. And he couldn’t risk falling today.

That’s when it struck him, in all his excitement he hadn’t thought about what he would tell mamma! His mood quickly changed. She had promised him that she would buy him his very own bike during the summer vacation. So, it went without saying that she would be saddened by the fact that he had brought one home on his own. But on a brighter note, it would also mean that she could save money faster to buy a new fridge, and that meant limitless ice creams! Yes, he would just have to convince her that this was for the best.

He smiled, assured, and continued onwards. To the right, his street stretched forward, littered on both sides with the houses of his friends and other loved ones. Ever since he and his mom had moved here, these people had taken them in, and the street had quickly become his extended home, giving him and his mamma a big family that they had not known before. But he had soon realised that having a close-knit family meant lesser opportunities for mischiefs and adventures.

Thankfully, this bike was going to open up his world.

***

[4]

There was either going left or right, and since her place lay on the left, and she didn’t know anyone on that side of the street who would steal her bicycle, she took a gamble and turned right. The thief could not be too far ahead.

She picked up her pace, hurrying down the straight path, ignoring the rhythmic clashing of the polythene bag on her shin.

There was no way she was going home, if not on her bicycle.

She still remembered the time her parents had surprised her with it. It had been her 7th birthday and she had been dying to get a new ride, one without training wheels. When they had led her down the driveway and shown her the purple beauty, she had fallen in love at first sight.

It was the first thing she remembered calling her own. No one else was allowed to ride it but her, not even her annoying cousin sister who usually got her way.

And despite the passage of time, and in spite of the various scratches it had been decorated with in the last two years, she still took pride in branding it as hers.

There was no way she was letting it get into someone else’s hands.

Wiping away the sweat dripping down her face, she turned right along with the road, following its journey, hoping it would lead her to her destination.

***

[5]

As he made his way halfway through his street, he saw one of his friends come out of her house to collect a package. He called out to her, waving frantically, gesturing at the bike.

The friend turned towards the noise and saw him standing in the middle of the street, next to him, a purple stallion. She screamed and ran at full speed, dropping the package at her doorstep.

“Dude, you got a bike?!”

He beamed with pride and nodded, “Isn’t it superb?”

He shifted the bike’s weight off of himself and tried to put on the stand. But it didn’t work, every time he thought he had managed to make it work and let go of the cycle, it started to lean one way or the other. During his last attempt, it almost fell to the ground, but his friend caught it in time, her tiny frame now supporting the bike’s weight.

He took the bike from her and first checked the eggs and then the bike. They both seemed to be okay. But clearly, the bike was not. He frowned and looked at it from different angles, trying to understand what was wrong. Only minutes ago, he had found it standing ever so perfectly on that market lane. What had happened to it between then and now?

His friend noticed his expression and said, “It’s okay. Happens with bikes all the time.”

He looked up, “Ya?”

She nodded, “Don’t worry though, my dad will fix it for you. Plus,” she rang the slightly rusted bell and looked at the dirt spots, her face scrunched from concentration, “the bike needs a couple more mends. But it’s all doable.”

He sighed, relieved. She sure looked like she knew what she was talking about. “Thanks so much. I will bring the bike over sometime in the evening.”

“Cool, I’ll let dad know to keep his tools ready.” She turned and walked towards her house, but stopped midway and called out to him, “So, you’ll be up for the race this weekend, right? Now that you have a bike?”

He gulped, suddenly nervous at the prospect of actually having to ride it, and that too in the weekly race!

With a shaky voice, he replied, “Ya sure, bring it on!”

***

[6]

There it was, her prized possession.

A boy in red stood beside it, trying hard again and again to set the stand so her bicycle could rest easily upon it.

But only she knew the perfect angle at which the stand could take the weight.

She raced ahead and pushed the boy hard. He hit the ground and began to tear up immediately. He was only a few years younger than her.

“Hey! What are you doing with my bike!?”

Dropping the ice-cream, she began to inspect her bike from all angles, making sure it hadn’t met any additional scratches during the time spent apart. Spotting the bag hanging on one handle, she yanked at it and discarded it next to the boy.

Only he heard the crack in the eggs. Unable to control the surge of emotions, he let go of his sobs and tried hard to get his response out.

“I…I didn’t know it was yours. I…thought it had been abandoned.”

“Well, you are mistaken. This is my bike….and I’m taking it back!” She tried to sound authoritative, especially to hide the sudden hint of fear she felt now that he had begun to cry.

When he posed her no questions to prove her ownership, and she realised he wouldn’t be one to chase her down, she quickly turned the bicycle around, picked up the tossed ice-cream bag, and rode out of his street, retracing the turn on the road.

As soon as she cut the curve, she hit the breaks and brought herself and her bicycle to a stop. Her heart was racing, and something felt weird.

She looked down at the all too familiar scratches and bents and zoned in on one in particular; the bent that had come to be the day her father had taught her how to ride her new bike that had come without training wheels.

A rage that can only come from a place of a broken heart engulfed her insides, as she hopped off and kicked the seat with all her might.

Her purple bike with the purple seat and the purple bell lay on the grey of the road that had cracked beneath the weight of a hundred passengers.

***

[7]

He stood in the middle of the street, his cheeks wet with his tears and the cotton bag soaking in broken eggs. He peered in to count the number that had made it despite the fall. There were only 2.

Broken-hearted and embarrassed, he slowly began walking the short length to his home. But then, he was stopped by a voice.

“Hey, hey boy, wait!”

He turned around to see the purple bike that he had loved as his own moments ago speeding towards him. And riding it was the same girl in the blue shirt who had thrown both him and his eggs onto the ground.

He didn’t wait, instead, he ran; fast and away from her.

She shouted again, her voice much closer than before, “Wait, I’m not going to hurt you. Please, stop!”

He didn’t stop, but his feet slowed down, and she quickly caught up to him. As she came to a stop in front of him, he stayed, but kept a distance, trying to figure out what this was all about.

She got off the bike and put the stand, and to his surprise, it stayed put!

She sighed and looked at him, “I’m sorry for pushing you,” her eyes flitted to the now dripping cotton bag, “and sorry about that too.”

He hid the bag behind his back, unsure about her and her apology. “What do you want?”

She stepped to the side and motioned to him, “My bad, it’s not my bike.”

“Huh? But you said it was yours.”

She looked at her feet and whispered, “I thought it was, but it’s not.” Then with determination, she faced him, her eyes fierce, “You can have it.”

He took a step towards the bike and paused, “You sure?”

She nodded.

He hastened towards the bike, not giving her a chance to change her mind and took it off its stand.

With a nod towards her direction, he started walking with it by his side, a faint smile returning to his face.

She stopped him again, “Wait.”

He turned towards her, fear on his face.

She walked up to him and said, “I’ll show you how to put the stand.”

And then, she did that. Showing him the exact angle at which to lean the bike and the exact moment at which to push down the stand. After a couple of attempts, he got it right.

Grinning, he looked up at her, “Thanks!”

“No problem.” She patted the seat of the bike one last time, trying to memorize every inch of the possession that was no longer hers.

***

[8]

She was glad he had accepted the bike without too many questions. Maybe he was just as happy about owning it as she was about letting it go.

Anyway, Ma and Papa had been talking about getting her a new one, though she didn’t know if they would still be inclined to do that amidst their divorce.

As she resumed her journey back home, she heard his soft voice call out to her.

“Hey.”

She turned around to look at him, his cheeks blushing red, as red as his shirt.

“If you don’t mind…could you teach me how to ride the bike?”

She must have looked dumbfounded, for he hurriedly clarified, “My mom also doesn’t know how, and I have a race this weekend, so…”

The bike that had seemed so perfectly hers only an afternoon ago now looked complete with him holding onto its handles.

She walked towards it and gave the purple bell her final ring, knowing it was soon going to be time for goodbye. But not before she gave the boy some tips her dad had passed along to her.

“Okay, I’ll teach you a few tricks.”

Before she could place the ice cream down, she heard him say,

“Wait, can I please first go and buy some eggs?”

She sheepishly looked at the bag she had dumped at his feet a few moments ago.

“It's okay, I can teach you on the way.”

*****